The mining lease will aid Tata Power in ensuring a regular supply of coal for its thermal power plants. Tata Power holds a 30% stake in KPC.

Nickel prices in China hit a record high on Wednesday with prices rising 17% to hit 267,700 yuan (about $42,400) a tonne, touching the ceiling for permitted daily gains

Spot thermal coal prices for the Newcastle Port benchmark have soared 35% over the past week to a record $353.75 a tonne, stoked by supply shortages

Prices of thermal coal, typically used to generate electricity, have shot to record highs due to increased buying by Europe after sanctions on Russia

Huge imports of the metal into China, much of it by speculators taking advantage of relatively low prices, consumed the market surplus in 2021, a global trade body said

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is ramping up the price of metals used in cars, from aluminium to palladium to the high-grade nickel in electric vehicle batteries

The state planning body plans to boost output and reserves of oil, gas, as well as coal, which powers more than 60% of China's electricity generation plants

Aggregate cash holdings of ASX200 companies grew 60% in the year to December 31, hitting a record high of $246 billion, according to a CommSec analysis.

Russia produces about 6% of the world's aluminium. It is also a major producer of natural gas used to generate electricity that powers production of aluminium.

Investor sources said Stanmore and its broker Petra Capital were taking early bids from institutional investors in Australia and offshore

Pictures of the scene showed the aftermath of the landslide, with a broad swathe of brown earth and rock covering the pockmarked side of a hill

The two employees were kidnapped on June 6 in Mbanga, a village in the southwestern region of Tillaberi that lies in a gold-rich area